


An Unplanned Family Reunion

by CommanderEmma



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24244837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderEmma/pseuds/CommanderEmma
Summary: What happens when a ghost from Wynonna's past shows up in Purgatory, and why is she so much older then she should be. Now they need to race against time to find answers. Will Wynonna and Doc be able to put aside their differences. The team will be forced to work together to solve a new kind of problem before it's too late. Takes place before the end of season three.
Relationships: Alice Michelle & Original Character(s), Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp & Alice Michelle, Wynonna Earp/Doc Holliday
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33





	1. Welcome to Purgatory

The panic had long since fled her body as she flew down that poorly paved road, the welcome to purgatory sign in her rearview mirror. Her fear had settled into a kind of calm that could convince even a lie detector she was fine. He knuckles swollen and bruised wrapped around the steering wheel blood stained the back of her hand for where she was whipping the cut that started at the top of her head and sliced through her left cheek. The stereo crackled and a small handgun lay in the passenger seat. She slowed her speed as she pulled into town not wanting to alarm the locals. Purgatory was quiet and the sun sat high in the sky. She wasn't really sure where it was best to find the Earp girls but she figured the best place to start was the police station. Pulling into the parking spaces out front she took a deep breath, her head was killing her and her whole body was sore but she hoped that soon she would be able to rest. She took a look at herself in the rearview mirror. Her hair which normally was brown had crimson streaks from the blood on her face, her eyes that normally an icy blue where strained tired looking and red. She looked rough, really rough, but it was gonna have to do. She hopped out of the car gently sliding the Glock she almost always had on her, into her holster. She shut the car door leaning against it slightly, her whole body hurt but she was determined to make it inside. 

Walking through the front door of the station and rounding the corner she was face to face with a tall red-headed officer standing at the counter. Upon her arrival in the room, the officer looked up and her face showed she was instantly concerned. 

“Hello, how can I- oh my god!” the redhead exclaimed running from behind the counter up to the brunette. Gently the officer placed her hand on her shoulder and knelt down to get a better look at the young girl’s face. She took in the girls build first she was young maybe 15 or 16 and she looked to be in a lot of pain. “Come sit down, My name Nicole. Did someone hurt you?” The questions flooded the cop’s mind but she tried not to overwhelm the girl. 

“I’m fine, I’m actually here looking for someone.” the girl said shaking the officer off slightly and standing up straighter. “Do you know where Wynonna Earp is?” 

Nicole was shocked by this question, was this a revenant, was this a friend, family member maybe, there was really only one way to find out. Nicole stood up straighter “Let me go get her if you don't mind waiting here.” With that, Nicole walked back behind the counter and disappeared into another room.

Nicole stood outside the black badge division door, before knocking and entering the room. All eyes snapped to look at her, Waverly smiled at the sight of her girlfriend but it didn’t last long when she noticed the concern in her eyes. Wynonna and Jeremy sat eating Chinese food and also turned to look at her. Nicole shut the door behind her before turning her attention to Wynonna, “So there's someone outside, she asked for you by name, I don't know who she is or why she's here but she looks fairly young and really beat up.” Nicole rushed with concern lacing her voice.  
Wynonna stood up, “she asked for me?” as she reached for the peacemaker that sat on the table and put it back in the holster on her hip, she didn't wanna assume she was a revenant, but figured it couldn't hurt to play it safe. She stood up and began to walk toward the door. Nicole and Waverly, following closely behind Wynonna. Wynonna was curious, few people asked for her by name in this town, well in any positive way, and even fewer of those people were young. She was hesitant as she rounded the corner into the main room. Sitting there was a girl whose body looked tattered, her brown hair was covering the majority of her face and she was nervously wringing her hands together. 

Hearing people enter the room she dropped her bloodstained hands to her sides and stood up. Looking at the women in front of her she was forced to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. “Hello, Wynonna, my name is Alice and I have reasons to believe you are my mother.”


	2. Maternity Test

Her words cut through the air like a knife. Wynonna looked closely at her, hair long and wavy, eyes icy and blue, near duplicate of one Doc Holliday's. And then there is the feeling in her gut, she couldn't shake it, it was this feeling of overwhelming love that demanded to be felt. Wynonna stood up a little taller, “That's impossible, my daughter was only born five years ago.” Wynonna was forcing herself to feel nothing as she looked at this girl.  
“You’re right, she was five years, three months, and twenty-four days to be exact, it's been a short life, that has been interestingly long.” Alice knew everything she has said must sound insane and she was gonna have to explain it quickly or her own mother was gonna pull that gun on her faster then she could blink. “I get it, it sounds insane, and it doesn't seem possible, but something is happening. I keep aging and it won’t stop, it's rapid and it hurts. Gus tried to help me, tried to make it stop, she tried to give me a normal life. But then something happened and something attacked us. I fought as hard as I could, but I was weak in comparison.” The words came out in a rush of emotions as she tried desperately to keep her head level even though she felt completely psychotic. 

In that instant, Wynonna didn't care what logic said the frail, scared girl in front of her was definitely her daughter and all she wanted to do was hold her. As fast as she could Wynonna moved from around the counter and wrapped her arms around Alice. Alice felt her knees give out as the warm embrace of her mom surrounded her. The tears fell from her eyes, hot, and stinging, as she held onto Wynonna tightly. Wynonna kissed the top of her head holding the sweet girl in her arms as she cried. 

Behind them, Nicole put her hands around Waverly. She knew Waverly would want nothing more than to hold tightly to her niece, hell even Nicole wanted to hug the sweet baby who had not once left her mind in the past few years. However, she knew that Wynonna needed this moment and in all honesty, Nicole wasn’t exactly sold on the fact that this teenager was Wynonna's daughter. 

“Okay,” Wynonna said, pulling away from Alice, “I wanna believe that you are my daughter, but you gotta understand it’s a little hard to believe,” Wynonna explained gently stroking her hair. 

“I completely understand, I will do anything you want to prove it to you,” Alice said, pulling away and standing up.  
“Okay. Jeremy can do a quick DNA test and it will give us a definitive answer.” Wynonna said, already turning to walk into the back room. Alice followed closely behind limping ever so slightly. 

Nicole pulled Waverly to the side as Wynonna disappeared around the corner. “This is a little crazy right even for purgatory?” Nicole asked Waverly looked around the room and sighed a little  
“It sounds crazy, but when that whole time thing happened she skipped like 6 months of her pregnancy. So maybe that has something to do with it.” Waverly said a newfound brightness as she smiled, “come on!” Waverly beamed heading toward the back office. 

“Jeremy!” Wynonna beckoned entering the room. “Any chance you can run a quick DNA test.” She said charging into the room and walking straight up to where Jeremy sat shoving Kung pow chicken into his mouth. 

“Uhh-yeah, whose DNA am I testing?” Jeremy asked, sitting down food.  
“Me and bloody Mary over here.” She didn’t mean it to come off so harsh, but Wynonna was trying to protect herself from the possibility that this girl wasn’t actually her daughter.  
“Ummm- okay I just need some saliva and it should take like an hour or two to process but I'll rush it '' Jeremy muttered jumped up from the desk to grab two cotton swabs and requested that they both swab the inside of your mouth. Alice and Wynonna did as they were told and handed the swabs back to Jeremy.  
Waverly practically ran into the room followed closely by Nicole who despite her tall frame was struggling to keep up.  
“Okay, sweet cheeks, you got a lot of explaining to do,” Wynonna said, pulling over a chair and motioning for Alice to sit down before sitting down herself. 

Alice sighed as she sat bracing herself for the conversation she was about to have. “Okay, well what do you wanna know? Or I guess maybe where do you want me to start.” Waverly perched herself on the desk and Nicole stood next to her allowing Waverly to lay against her.  
Wynonna reached out and gently placed her hand over Alices “Just start from the beginning” she said, giving Alice’s hand a supportive squeeze before leaning back in her chair. Alice took a ragged breath and she could feel the bruises forming on her ribs. 

“Well I don't remember much of the early years well it was more of a year. The only thing I really remember from that time is Aunt Gus was always looking over her shoulder. And spending lots of time with books. But it wasn’t long before we both noticed I was aging quickly and it wasn't just physically I was also mentally progressing faster than the average two-year-old. Because of that doctors were getting suspicious so Aunt Gus and I started moving around. We would move every few months and I did most of my school work from home. Aunt Gus made sure I knew how to carry myself and grilled me on details of my life that would allow me to pass for the age I was appearing or well- I guess- I am. She also made sure I knew how to handle a variety of guns and other weapons and I took self-defense classes for almost two years. She wanted me to be prepared if I ever was in a situation where I needed to defend myself. She also told me a lot about you and we made an escape plan for me in case anything ever happened to her. That plan is why I’m here right now.” Alice paused to take a breath and to rest her head gently in her hands. Waverly took this opportunity to speak up. 

“ I actually had an idea about that, the aging thing.” Waverly said drawing both Alice and Wynonna’s attention “remember when that whole thing happened when the town fell asleep and you went from being not very pregnant to very pregnant” Waverly explained moving her hands to demonstrate the growth of Wynonna stomach. Wynonna's eyes widened as the memory of the conversations she had with the sandman as he told her that her child should have stayed the same size and him saying that she would continue to defy expectations.  
“Holy shit, Waverly,” Wynonna said, “ I think you may be on to something, but we can figure that out later,” Wynonna said, returning her attention to Alice. Alice took this as her cue to continue her explanations. 

“Things were going fine despite the rapid aging until last night. We were sitting down for dinner when something broke through the door. Aunt Gus and I both grabbed for guns, but we were too slow. This thing looked like a snake mixed with a dragon maybe. It grabbed a hold of me and I fought it off as much as I could. Aunt Gus shot it and it let me go which gave me a fighting chance but when it let me go it threw me across the room and I think I was knocked unconscious. When I came to Aunt Gus was not doing well she was fighting it but she wasn't winning. I was able to take the poker from near the fireplace and attacked it. We were not doing well and there was no way we were gonna win. Aunt Gus told me to run to get in the car and go and not stop till I got here to you, and well I didn’t.” Alice finished as tears poured down her face. Wynonna moved from the chair to hold Alice as her own tears threatened to fall. Waverly, also jumped off the desk wiping a stray tear from her eyes as she went to hug Wynonna and Alice. The three embraced as Alice's sobs through muffled filled the silence of the room. Nicole felt like she didn’t belong but it wasn't but a few seconds before the trio broke apart as Jeremy exclaimed,  
“I’ve got it!” Jeremy leaned back from his computer spinning around his chair. Everyone abruptly stood up and moved to the desk. Wynonna's impatience already evident in her voice 

“Alright Jeremy, what's the verdict” 

“Right,” Jeremy said, turning back to his computer screen, “Wynonna in the case of Alice's identity you are the mother,” Jeremy said giggling at his own joke. Wynonna took a step back as Alice turned to her. Waverly smiled brightly and turned to Alice, she had been hesitant to embrace her before, but now she couldn’t hold back. She pulled Alice into a tight loving embrace that she hadn’t been able to do since that day on the hill as the helicopter landed.  
Wynonna looked at her sister holding her daughter in her arms and the realization was really starting to hit, her daughter was back in Purgatory. Then at that moment, she thought of Doc probably at Shorty’s minding his own business none the wiser that their daughter was home. What on earth was he going to say?


	3. Dad's, Whiskey, and Last Names

Waverly finally let go of Alice after a few seconds and looked her over, smiling from ear to ear sure this isn’t the situation in which she wanted her niece to be home, but she couldn’t help but be excited that her niece was home. It was then Wynonna walked back over toward them an uncertain look on her face.

“Okay so I have a plan, I’m gonna take Alice over to Shorty's, Waverly can you finish up here and then go to the homestead get things cleaned up and ready so Alice has somewhere to sleep.” Waverly, nodded her head then stopped.

“We drove together this morning so I don't have a car to go to the homestead.” Nicole was just about to say something when Alice cut her off, 

“You can take my car, Waverly,” Alice said holding out the keys, “It’s the little silver Toyota out front.” Waverly nodded, taking the keys. Wynonna once again took control of the conversation to give out orders. 

“Nicole,” Wynonna said turning, a serious tone made it known to Nicole that what she was about to say was important “will you try and get in contact with the local police station and see if you can get someone out to the farm to check on Gus.” Nicole nodded and began to walk away “And then when you get off come over for dinner,” Wynonna hollered after her. Jeremy stood looking eagerly at Wynonna. “You can come over to Jeremy,” Wynonna said smiling. Everyone scurried off as Wynonna bluntly turned her attention to Alice “Ready to meet your Dad?” She asked Alice who took a deep breath. 

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Alice said she was trying to be positive, but her whole body hurt, and her left shoulder was especially painful and she was starting to think she may have dislocated it. Along with probably fracturing a few ribs she really wasn’t in the best shape. 

Wynonna led Alice out of PPD and across the street and into Shorty’s, which was surprisingly empty for 3pm other than Doc who stood whipping off the bar. 

“Doc, where’s your new chick,” Docs looked up to see the two walking toward him.

“Well Hello to you Wynonna. And who would be your young friend?” Doc said eyeing the pair suspiciously Wynonna hadn’t been around him since finding out he allowed himself to be turned into a Vampire. Wynonna ignored the question, pointing to Alice to take a seat before walking behind the bar, grabbing the whiskey and a few shot glasses and beginning to fill them up. 

“Wynonna, what do you think you are doing?” Doc said storming over and taking the bottle from Wynonna anger evident in his voice. 

“Doc, I would like to introduce you to Alice Mitchel,” Wynonna said, downing a shot. Doc's eyes widened as he looked at the frail girl sitting at his bar, she barely filled out the shirt she was wearing and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days and that didn’t even come close to the cuts and pained look in her eyes. Doc wasn’t even gonna touch on the fact that she was supposed to be a five-year-old and she was in fact a teenager. He reached out and took one of the full shot glasses and downed its contents before walking around Wynonna. 

“Alice, you are even more beautiful than I could have imagined.” Doc slid his hat off his head and sat it on the bar before looking deep into his daughter's eyes, “I want you to know I never stopped thinking about you and everything I ever did I did for you.” Doc said the sincerity evident in his voice. Alice looked at her Dad’s face who was being so nice and so kind and the past day had been so long and so overwhelming she just collapsed into Doc. He caught her and held her close to him. Wynonna couldn’t help but get a little teary-eyed looking at Doc with their daughter a moment she had missed all those years ago. She was surprised to feel Alice reach out and take her hand squeezing it tightly. Doc and Alice broke apart and the three exchanged uncertain looks but the love was so evident. 

“Soooooo can I have one of those?” Alice asked using her right hand to point at the shots lined up at the bar. Wynonna and Doc shared a concerned look. 

“Alice you are far too young to be drinking,” Doc said in a stern, fatherly tone, Wynonna smiled

“I agree, under normal circumstances, but you have been through a lot the past few days.” Wynonna said, sliding one shot over to Alice “But only one and don’t think this is something that will happen often.” 

Alice smiled and grabbed the shot glass taking it with no reaction. Wynonna who had been waiting for her to spit it out or at the very least make a disgusted face was shocked when no reaction crossed her face. “ Well we know she's an Earp-Holliday,” Wynonna said laughing and Doc joined in trying and failing to mask his pride. 

“Earp-Holliday” Alice said letting the words roll off her tongue she never knew her real last name and now saying it felt strange, but it also made her so happy. “Mom, I don’t wanna ruin the mood, but I'm so tired, and I really could use a shower do you think we could head….home?” Wynonna who had been staring at Doc looked back at Alice, of course, we can babygirl. She said moving to head toward the door. She stopped, “Dinner at the homestead tonight, why don’t you come.” Wynonna said to Doc. Shock crossed his face but he nodded sliding his hat back on. Wynonna and Alice walked out of Shorty’s and got into Wynonna’s truck to head back to the homestead. 

xxxxxxxxxxxx At the Homestead xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Waverly had walked into the homestead and threw away the multitude of bloody tissues that had covered Alice’s passengers' seat. She looked around, the first floor was clean so she headed straight upstairs. She walked past her own room and stood outside the white door at the other end of the hall. This room hadn’t really been entered in years and she was worried about what she would find when she finally went in. Pushing open the door she entered a time capsule. While Waverly had taken over Willa's room when it was finally empty, neither of them had bothered to go into Wynonna's old room. Her and Wynonna had taken their stuff when they moved in with their aunt and uncle, but the furniture and anything they didn’t wanna take had stayed put.

The bed was tucked into the corner covered in purple bedding and the walls were covered in a simple starred wallpaper. The closet was ajar and the bookshelves were covered in dust. A few stray drawings and crayons littered the floor. She looked at the few boxes that sat in the room, most were labelled with Wynonna's name. Waverly was pulled from her thoughts by Nicole entering the room. 

“I knocked and rang the doorbell before I came in.” Nicole said smiling Waverly smiled and nodded. 

“It's okay baby, can you just help me move these boxes into the attic and change the sheets and maybe dust.” Waverly asked sheepishly. 

“Absolutely!” Nicole said, picking up a box. The pair worked quickly to put the boxes away, wipe down and dust the room. Waverly changed the bedding to some spare stuff they had laying around. She smoothed out the clean new bedding as Nicole opened the window letting in the last of the evening light in. Waverly looked around pleased but then ran off in the direction of her room. She came back carrying some fairy lights and plugged them into the outlet near the window. With Nicole's help, she was able to hang the lights around the room where the wall met the roof and created a twinkly glow. To finish off the room Waverly sat a clean towel and washcloth as well as a big T-shirt and shorts from her own wardrobe on the bed. They would have to go shopping for some new clothing and maybe some decorations in the morning but for now, this would do. Satisfied with their work Nicole and Waverly headed downstairs to wait for everyone else to arrive. 

A/N I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would love to hear your thought and feeling and how do you think dinner will go.


	4. A Bath schouldn't Be So Hard

Alice had been quiet on the drive to the homestead Wynonna decided for now it was best not to push it and to just let Alice talk when she was ready. Wynonna was worried about so many things, but she was hoping that between all of them they would be able to come up with some sort of plan tonight to make sure nothing happened to Alice until they figured out what was going on with her age and were able to get her back out of Purgatory. Wynonna felt her heartbreak at the thought of sending Alice away again, but she wanted her to be safe and she just wasn’t safe in purgatory- not yet. Wynonna was ripped from her thoughts as they pulled into the homestead. The sun was setting leaving a golden glow cascading over the land. Alice sat up straighter

“Wow, it’s so beautiful here.” Wynonna smiled at her daughter if only she knew the horrific things that had happened on this land. 

“It really is” Wynonna said looking around “Come on let’s get you inside and settled in.” 

Walking through the front door Alice took in the house, it was rustic and showed its age but also warm and homey. There were decorations everywhere that brought pops of color to the house and made it feel lived in. The places she had lived with Gus never felt like home because they moved so often, they usually didn’t even bother decorating. Alice smiled when she saw Waverly and Nicole sitting in the living room and nervously hung behind her mom as she went over to the fridge and grabbed a drink. 

“Want anything?” Wynonna asked Alice shook her head and continued to stand in the entryway uncomfortable shifting from foot to foot. Nicole could sense that Alice was uncomfortable and gently nudged Waverly. Waverly stood up and walked over toward Alice. “Hey,” she said calmly. I got you all set up in the room upstairs at the end of the hall sheets are clean and I left some clothes on the bed for you to change into, as well as a towel and stuff if you wanna shower. You can use anything you need in the bathroom.” Wynonna walked over toward the pair, 

“This is as much your home as it is ours” Wynonna said gently, “make yourself at home help yourself to whatever you want” Alice smiled as some of her nerves faded away. Being around her mom and Dad was easy, even if it was a little strange still, but everyone else still made her a bit nervous, she didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. 

“I think I’m gonna go shower then if that’s okay,” Alice said trying to find some confidence, Waverly and Wynonna smiled and nodded as Alice headed up the stairs. 

The floorboards creaked as she walked down the hallway and into her room. It was so cute the star wallpaper though old was sweet and the lights made the room feel warm and safe. The window allowed for a breeze to pass through as the last of the sun started to disappear over the horizon. Alice took a minute to look out the window past the field. she could see a pond and trees that surrounded the back of the house. She smiled as She carefully scooped up the clean stuff from the bed, careful to not jostle her left shoulder too much and headed across the hall to the bathroom. 

The bathroom was beautiful with a clawfoot tub and lots of counter space. The wall was a soft purple wallpaper and the whole room smelled of lavender. She sat her clean stuff on the counter, hung her towel on the hook by the tub, and gently sat the washcloth on the edge of the tub. Shampoo conditioner and body wash were already sitting on a shelf that hung from the showerhead which looked almost brand new. She smiled when she noticed a razor and new toothbrush on the counter along with some deodorant and toothpaste, sitting on top was a brand new bright blue hairbrush. A note was attached 

Picked these up for you. I hope they make it feel a little more like home. 

Love,  
Nicole

Alice had so many questions about who Nicole was but she liked her and hoped she would be around for a while. Alice took a deep breath looking at herself in the mirror. She looked bad, bloody, and bruises were appearing on her face. She carefully removed the holster that had her gun still in place and sat it gently on the counter. She was thankful to be able to do that without moving her left shoulder, but she braced herself as she grabbed the hem of her shirt and tried to pull it off but the pain in her shoulder and her ribs became too much and she let out some sort of mangled yelp of pain. 

Downstair Waverly, Wynonna, and Nicole sat discussing the kinds of pizza they should order for dinner. They had just settled on a cheese, a pepperoni, and a veggie when they heard Alice make some sort of loud pained noise. That was the one thing about this house the walls were thin. Wynonna took off up the stairs with Waverly and Nicole only a second behind her. Wynonna stopped at the door listening. No more sound came from the bathroom so she decided it best to knock.

“Alice, sweetie, you okay?” Wynonna asked 

Alice stood there staring at her reflection horrified by the sound that had come out of her mouth. She had been determined to prove she didn’t need help and could take care of herself. But here she was in too much pain to take off her shirt and the idea of having to move around in the shower made her wanna disappear. Tears started to pour from her eyes all over again as she reached for the door knobbed and slowly opening the door. She stood in front of the three sweetest women she had ever met tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry guys, I didn’t wanna bother you, but I think I may have messed up my shoulder and I can’t do this alone,” Alice looked at the ground scared to ask the next question “Will you please help me?” Alice said avoiding eye contact. 

Wynonna breathed a sigh of relief Alice was fine nothing had happened to her. She looked at Waverly, “can you order the pizza and have Doc pick it up on his way over.” 

Waverly was shocked that Wynonna was letting Doc anywhere near the house, but nodded and began to walk away. Nicole hung back though.

“I know I’m not a doctor but I have seen a few messed up shoulders in my day and took a few basic medicine courses. I can look at your shoulder before dinner.” Nicole offered gently. Alice looked up again at Nicole 

“that would be great thanks Nicole, oh, and thanks for the note,” Alice said with a smile. Nicole couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face big and bright. Wynonna made a face at Nicole that showed her confusion, but Nicole decided to ignore it.

“Of course hun.” She said before heading off downstairs. 

Wynonna followed Alice into the bathroom. She headed straight for the tub and started to fill it with warm water before turning back to Alice. “Let’s get you out of that dirty clothing. It was a slow process getting Alice undressed as Wynonna was being very careful of her shoulder. She took note of the multiple cuts, scrapes, and bruises that covered Alice’s body. Wynonna was furious with whatever attacked her sweet girl, she was mad at Gus for not protecting her better, but mostly she was mad at herself for not making sure Alice was safe. This was all her fault in the end. They didn’t talk much as Wynonna gently helped Alice into the now full tub. She could tell Alice was a bit embarrassed about needing her mom's help. 

“Is the water too hot?” Wynonna asked, picking up the washcloth from the side of the tub. 

“No, just stings a little,” Alice said softly. Wynonna got the washcloth wet and started running it over Alices’ back and shoulder. Alice leaned into the comforting touch of her mother. Though she hadn’t seen her since the day she was born the connection between them was very strong and Alice couldn’t help but feel like she was being pulled toward her mom. 

Wynona grabbed a cup from under the sink and slowly began to pour water through Alice’s brown hair, the water ran red with the blood that was caked in her hair. Wynonna was worried about the amount of blood but tried to stay calm as she grabbed the shampoo and worked it gently into Alice's hair being very gentle and cautious with her scalp. 

“Hey mom can I ask you a question?” Alice asked, trying to fill the silence of the room and make this whole experience a little less embarrassing. 

“You just did” Wynonna said, smirking, earning a gentle chuckle from Alice who stopped reaching up to touch her ribs. “Of course you can baby.” She said smiling 

“So Nicole is around a lot which isn’t a bad thing I’m just curious why,” Alice said looking at her mom.

“Wynonna smiled, she knew this would come up eventually. “Nicole is your aunt Waverly’s girlfriend- and well- in all honesty, kind of like another aunt to you. She made sure you were safe after you were born and made sure nothing happened to you or Waverly.” Wynonna explained hoping that would be enough information for now. 

“Oh cool!” Alice said smiling “What about-Jeremy was it?”Wynonna smiled though she would never admit it she was fond of the dork and knew that if push came to shove he would do anything for any of them. 

“Jeremy joined our group a little later, but he’s a great guy, ill be it a little nerdy for me.” Wynonna said chuckling “But I guess you could say he’s kind of like an uncle to you.” Alice felt her smile grow even wider; she was amazed at just how much family she did have. Wynonna finished up with Alice's hair and then put some soap on the washcloth before handing it to Alice and letting her clean herself up. Once she was done Wynonna eased her out of the tub gently drying her off and helping her into her clean clothing. 

“I’ll throw this stuff in the wash so you have some of your stuff tomorrow you can borrow anything from mine or Waverly’s closet and hopefully we can get to the store to get you a few outfits and stuff,” Wynonna said scooping up the clothing from the floor.

“Thanks, mom, I really appreciate this, all of this,” Alice said with a smile hoping her mom understood just what she was saying. Wynonna smiled at her before heading out of the bathroom. Alice took a second to brush through her hair, how her mom had got it untangled she would never know, before looking at herself. Now clean she could see that though the cut on her face was long it wasn’t deep and probably wouldn’t need to be stitched. Her face had a few small bruises forming and could feel the bruises on her chest and back forming. She did a once over of the rest of her body it didn’t look like she would need stitches, just her shoulder fixed. With that thought she left the bathroom and headed down the stairs god she hoped Nicole would be able to fix it.


	6. Doc the Pizza Delivery Guy and Dr. Haught

Alice had just made it to the top of the stairs when she remembered her gun was still in the bathroom. She hesitated for a moment, maybe she didn’t need it here, but then she could hear the sound of Gus’s screams as the dragon thing broke in and she turned back to retrieve it. She fastened it around her waist. It was loose but without the belt loops from her jeans, it would just have to do. Alice then turned back and headed downstairs. She was only on the third step when she heard a knock on the door. 

“I got it,” Wynonna said, walking to the front door. She opened it to find Doc standing their pizza in hand. Wynonna stood there staring at him for a minute.

“Well, are you going to invite me in?” Doc finally asked impatient Wynonna had invited him for dinner after all. 

“John Henry Holliday you may come inside.” With that, Doc walked through the front door tipping his hat and Wynonna closed the door behind him. Alice stood there frozen. She had studied Wyatt Earp extensively, being homeschooled allowed her to study whatever she wanted so she chose her own family history. And yet somehow she had still missed that Wyatt Earps best friend Doc Holliday was her dad. That was impossible; she reminded herself he would be over 150 years old. 

Alice shook the thought from her mind, Doc Holliday was not her father. Alice had so many questions and her father's bloodline was now one of those questions. She still wasn’t really sure why her mom had sent her away. Nothing in Purgatory seemed scary; the town didn’t seem dangerous, in fact, it seemed quite nice. Alice was confused and the longer she was in Purgatory the more confused she became. Did her mom just not want her. Alice quickly decided the next chance she got she would talk to her mom.

Alice made her way down the stairs as the smell of Pizza began to fill the house. She stood in the entryway to the kitchen quietly just taking in the room. Nicole and Waverly sat at the table holding hands. Talking with Jeremy who was discussing the newest show he was watching on Netflix. Doc stood leaning against the wall Alice took note that he was watching Wynonna's every move and only on occasion did he glance down at the conversation going on. Wynonna stood with her back to the counter making the occasional comment on the conversation they all looked so happy. Alice walked into the kitchen trying her best to just make herself at home, she opened the fridge and looked for a drink settling on a coke. Wynonna smiled brightly and gave a look to Waverly who was also smiling. Alice stood up and shut the fridge turning back to the group. 

“Can we eat, a dragon kind of ruined my dinner- yesterday- so I’m starving,” Alice said the sarcasm made Doc smile; it reminded him so much of Wynonna. 

“Absolutely,” Waverly said and they all grabbed plates full of pizza and sat down to eat. 

The table was silent, but Alice was aggressively aware of the questions that lingered in the air. She swallowed her last bite of pizza wiping her face on a napkin. Before leaning back in her chair, 

“Alright, ask your questions. I can feel them lingering in the air.” Alice said waving her arm around in the air. Everyone looked at each other nervously. None of them wanted to upset Alice or overstep a boundary. Wynonna was the first to speak up she had some basic questions she wanted answered

“How old are you and how fast is the aging progression?” Wynonna asked Alice nodded. That was in fact a very fair question. 

‘I’m about 16 and we’ve figured out that I age about 3 years for every year, give or take a year” Alice said Wynonna nodded 

“and are you in pain?” Wynonna asked

Alice smiled “other than my shoulder not now I’m about as tall as I’m gonna get so my bones aren’t growing at an accelerated rate anymore. That really helped alleviate the pain” Jeremy decided it was a good time to speak up

“I could probably analyze a blood and tissue sample and see if there are any anomalies” Alice gulped she really hated needles, but if it meant answers she would try. 

“Yeah we could do that” Alice said hesitantly. 

At that moment Nicole chose to pipe up “ I can look at your shoulder now if you want?” Nicole offered Alice nodded vigorously. Waverly and Jeremy started to clean up the plates and empty pizza boxes as Nicole moved to stand opposite Alice as she stood up from the table. Nicole tried not to jostle Alice too much as she examined her shoulder. Before turning to look at Waverly “ Waves can you get that sling you have upstairs?” 

“Of course I can baby. Everything okay?” Waverly asked as she and Wynonna turned to look at Nicole.

“Yep, just a dislocated shoulder, can totally fix it!” Nicole said smiling at Alice, “Wynonna can you come behind Alice and just kind of hold her steady as I adjust her arm.” 

“Whatever you sat Dr. Tater Haught'' Wynonna said moving from the sink to stand behind Alice and wrapped her arms around her essentially bear hugging her. Doc watched mildly amused as Nicole held Alice by the wrist moving her shoulder up and straight out. An audible pop was heard followed by a stream of cuss words from Alice's mouth. Waverly ran down the stairs sling in hand. Carefully Alice to the sling from Waverly. Sliding it around her neck and giving support to her arm and shoulder. ‘Thanks, Nicole, sorry I cussed you out'' Alice said offering a small smile in Nicole’s direction.

The group sat around for a while just existing in each other's company Alice had busied herself by looking around the room and half-listening to the conversations being had at the table. It only took about 20 minutes for Alice to stand “I’m gonna go to bed. I’m exhausted” everyone wished her a goodnight reminding her that they would all be around if she needed anything. Alice scurried up the stairs and into the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth. Walking back into her room she threw herself on the bed.

The breeze coming through the bedroom window rustled the old lace curtains. The room was calming. Alice hoped one day she would be able to fill it with all her things. That her books would fill the shelves her record player and vinyl collection would sit in the corner and maybe even her sweet cat Mouse would find herself a cozy spot on the bed. Alice was holding out hope that Mouse had survived the attack, even if it seemed unlikely. Alice took a minute to settle in under the sheets and was surprised at how comfortable the bed was. Alice felt herself being lulled to sleep by the breeze and the sound of murmuring from downstairs. 

Wynonna had stood quietly near the stairs waiting for the bedroom door to close before she walked into the kitchen. Her face was stone but her eyes shone with a deep sense of worry. Everyone was sitting around the table discussing murder trees in hushed voices.

“Okay,” Wynonna said, taking a deep breath and grabbing the back of the chair Alice had previously been sitting in. “I wanna make some kind of general gameplan about how we are gonna make sure Bulshar doesn’t even get the chance to hurt her. Before I can rip his throat out.” The anger was trying to outway the fear in her voice, but both were present. Doc stood up he reached out and stopped before putting his arm around Wynonna

“ We will not let anything happen to her,” Doc promised Wynonna looked at him musty eyed they held eye contact just long enough for the other three to share a look before Wynonna shrugged Doc off.

“So,” she said clearing her throat and shaking her head “She will be with one of us at very least 24/7 she can be at the homestead alone, but with increased surveillance from Nedly or you Haught. She can go between Shortys and the station during the day, but only with an escort. I don’t know if she knows what is going on in Purgatory, but I know she will find out. So I’ll talk to her about it.” Everyone sat a little shocked at how laid out Wynonna's plan was. Waverly took note of how much she sounded like Dolls, a clear plan, easy and enforceable. Everyone nodded their heads murmuring various forms of agreement. With the plan all laid out, everyone started to migrate to their rooms. Nicole said goodbye to Waverly before taking herself and Jeremy home Waverly headed to bed. Which left Doc and Wynonna standing in the living room. 

“So our girl is back,” Doc said Wynonna’s face hardened as she looked at Doc the softness she had shown him throughout the day was gone.

“Yep and you are only welcome here in matters that have to do with her.” You are welcome to the barn for the time being, but as soon as we get Alice all figured out and back out of Purgatory. You won’t be welcome on my land anymore.” Doc opened his mouth to say something in response, but even he wasn’t sure how to respond. Wynonna walked into the direction of her room “Lock the door on your way out” She hollered. Doc sighed walking out the front door locking it and heading into the barn. 

A/N I would love to hear what you guys are thinking this far in? Hope you all are liking it <3


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